Residence by Points System (Points-Based Excellent Talent)
거주 (점수제 우수인재) F-2-7 — F-2-7 Points-Based Residence (거주)
At a glance
Foreigners already living legally in Korea who fall into one of 5 eligible groups AND score at least 80 points on the official points table.
F-2 (거주) status; up to a 5-year maximum period of stay per grant, and it is renewable. In practice the office may issue a shorter initial period.
Yes. F-2 residence lets you work freely and change jobs without a separate employer-tied work permit (unlike E-series work visas), subject to normal legal restrictions.
No fixed minimum, but Korean ability (기본소양) is worth up to 20 of the points that count toward the 80-point pass mark: TOPIK level 5+ or KIIP (Social Integration…
Fee: 130,000 KRW for change of status (체류자격변경허가); 60,000 KRW for each period-of-stay extension (standard immigration fee schedule; confirm current amount on HiKorea) · Time: (unverified) Not fixed by an official published figure; typically several weeks —…
Where this fits in your journey
Before arrival
Get admitted, prepare documents, apply.
During study
ARC, extensions, permits while in Korea.
After graduation
Job-seeking and work visas.
Settlement
Long-term residence and PR.
Who can apply
Foreigners already living legally in Korea who fall into one of 5 eligible groups AND score at least 80 points on the official points table. The 5 groups (MOJ Notice 2025-408): (1) Employees of KOSPI/KOSDAQ-listed companies working as managers/professionals; (2) Advanced-industry / high-tech workers whose annual income is at least 1.5x per-capita GNI; (3) Professionals who have held an E-1~E-7 or D-5~D-9 visa (excluding E-6-2 and E-7-2/E-7-3/E-7-4) and have lived legally in Korea for 3+ continuous years while meeting extension conditions; (4) Study talent: holders of a master’s degree or higher from a regular Korean university program who get a professional job (E-1~E-7 or D-5~D-9, excluding E-6-2/E-7-2~4) within 5 years of graduation, plus Korean-War participant-country talent with a Korean bachelor’s degree and a central-government recommendation; (5) Potential talent: master’s/PhD graduates of designated STEM-specialized universities and research institutes.
Documents you'll need
- Passport
- application for change of status
- alien registration card
- income amount certificate (소득금액증명, issued by the tax office) proving the previous year’s taxable income
- degree certificate (학위증) if claiming education/study-talent points
- TOPIK or KIIP (사회통합프로그램) completion certificate if claiming Korean-language points
- employment contract or proof of employment
- other supporting documents for bonus points (e.g., volunteer records, recommendation letter)
- application fee
How to apply
- Primarily domestic change-of-status (체류자격 변경) from an existing work/study status at the competent immigration office (출입국·외국인관서) (HiKorea booking); overseas embassy visa (사증) route also available for qualifying applicants abroad.
- This is a domestic change-of-status track (체류자격변경허가), not a visa issued at an overseas embassy.
- You must already be legally staying in Korea and then change your status to F-2-7 at the competent immigration office.
- Book a visit through HiKorea online reservation.
- Total score must be 80+ and none of the 7 disqualifications (결격사유) may apply (e.g., imprisonment sentence within 5 years, 3+ immigration-law violations totaling 5,000,000 KRW+ within 3 years, a fine of 3,000,000 KRW+ within 3 years, submitting false documents, entry-ban grounds).
Stay & extension
F-2 (거주) status; up to a 5-year maximum period of stay per grant, and it is renewable. In practice the office may issue a shorter initial period.
Renew before expiry via period-of-stay extension (체류기간연장허가). You must keep meeting the qualifying conditions (e.g., continued income/employment and no disqualifying grounds).
After maintaining F-2 residence for the required period (generally 5 years) you may apply for F-5 permanent residence.
Working on this visa
Yes. F-2 residence lets you work freely and change jobs without a separate employer-tied work permit (unlike E-series work visas), subject to normal legal restrictions.
Requirements in detail
No fixed minimum, but Korean ability (기본소양) is worth up to 20 of the points that count toward the 80-point pass mark: TOPIK level 5+ or KIIP (Social Integration Program) level 5 = 20 pts; TOPIK 4 / KIIP 4 = 15; TOPIK 3 / KIIP 3 = 10; TOPIK 2 / KIIP 2 = 5; TOPIK 1 / KIIP 1 = 3.
Income scoring by prior-year income (?뚮뱷湲덉븸利앸챸??: KRW 100M+ = 60pts; 90M-100M = 58; 80M-90M = 56; 70M-80M = 53; 60M-70M = 50; 50M-60M = 45; 40M-50M = 40; 30M-40M = 30; minimum wage (理쒖??꾧툑) to 30M = 10. Certain/advanced-industry tracks require prior-year income >= 1.5x per-capita GNI as a floor.
Points-based. Pass threshold ≥ 80 points; maximum ≈ 170 (basic items ≈ 130 + bonus points (가점) up to 40, minus deductions (감점)).
Basic categories: age (연령, up to ~25) · education (학력, up to ~25) · Korean ability / Social Integration Program (한국어능력/사회통합프로그램, up to 20) · income (소득, up to 60). Bonus/deduction items adjust the total.
Not mandatory, but a relevant central government ministry’s employment recommendation (소관 중앙행정기관 고용추천) can add bonus points(가점) in the scoring table.
Sub-types
F-2-7 is one sub-code of the Residence (거주) (F-2) residence status, meaning the points-based excellent-talent route. It is distinct from other F-2 sub-codes such as F-2-T (Top-Tier high-value talent), F-2-R (regional (지역특화)), and F-2-99 (long-term/other residence).
Dependents allowed: qualifying F-2-7 holders may invite spouse and minor children (typically to F-1 accompanying status / F-3-family dependent). After 3+ years of lawful F-2-7 stay the holder may qualify to apply for F-5 permanent residence.
Applicable. F-2-7 residents completing foreigner registration (외국인등록) can issue the mobile ARC (모바일 외국인등록증) (from 2025-01-10) with the same legal effect as the physical card.
2025–2026 policy updates
- MOJ Notice No. 2025-408 (법무부고시 제2025-408호), a partial amendment, took effect 2025-10-24 and is the current standard for F-2-7.
- It sets the pass mark at 80 points and defines the 5 eligible groups and the points table (max 170 recognized: 130 basic + 40 bonus, minus up to -70 deductions).
- The advanced-industry route ties eligibility to ‘high-tech fields’ per MOTIE Notice 2024-90 and keeps the income floor at 1.5x per-capita GNI.
- Applications received before 2025-10-24 are judged under the previous notice.
- (Separately, note the newer F-2-T ‘Top-Tier’ track and the Dec-2025 K-STAR visa track are different F-2 pathways, not F-2-7.)
Common mistakes
Confusing F-2-7 (points system) with F-2-T (Top-Tier, separate track); assuming a specific TOPIK level is mandatory (there is no hard floor — Korean only adds points); trying to apply from overseas (F-2-7 is a domestic change of status); claiming income informally instead of via the tax-office income certificate (소득금액증명); the professional route requires 3+ continuous years of legal stay; being over/under the age sweet spot (points peak at ages 25-29).
Where this leads
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